‘Vertigo’ is enough to make you dizzy
In a week, San Juan residents, movie buffs and Hitchcock fans
will be descending on the Mission City for a weekend celebration
of
”
Vertigo.
”
Alfred Hitchcock had a lifetime to build up a reputation with
his horror films, which included such masterpieces as
”
The Birds,
”
”
Rear Window,
”
and
”
Dial M for Murder.
”
But according to at least one viewer who skipped class to hang
out on location in San Juan,
”
Vertigo
”
changed the way people went to the movies.
‘Vertigo’ is enough to make you dizzy
In a week, San Juan residents, movie buffs and Hitchcock fans will be descending on the Mission City for a weekend celebration of “Vertigo.” Alfred Hitchcock had a lifetime to build up a reputation with his horror films, which included such masterpieces as “The Birds,” “Rear Window,” and “Dial M for Murder.” But according to at least one viewer who skipped class to hang out on location in San Juan, “Vertigo” changed the way people went to the movies.
While many Hollywood blockbusters today require plenty of attention to detail and often have surprising plot twists at the end – think “The Sixth Sense” and “The Prestige” – according to self-proclaimed movie aficionado Bob Valenzuela, it was a common practice in the ’50s for movie-goers to drop in for the second half of the movie.
“Most people walked in in the middle of the movie because there was always a double feature,” Valenzuela said. “Hitchcock put an end to that with ‘Psycho’ because they had to watch it from the beginning.”
A tagline for “Vertigo” when it came out said, “A Hitchcock thriller. You should see it from the beginning!”
The movie has a plot twist at the end that may seem pedantic compared to the fast-paced movies of recent years, but when considered with its era in mind is quite graceful. With that in mind, viewers looking for a fast-paced thriller probably won’t enjoy the movie. It is more suitable for those who want to see a classic piece of film history.
The film is based on a French novel that was reworked to include San Francisco and San Juan Bautista as the center for its main action.
John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) is a detective who leaves the force after he experiences vertigo while chasing a suspect across city roofs in San Francisco. He nearly drops to his death and from then on has a case of acrophobia – a fear of heights. Soon an old college friend enlists Ferguson to follow his wife who has been acting oddly. Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) spends her days staring at a grave at Mission Dolores, at a painting in an art museum, and sitting alone in a rented room in a hotel.
When Ferguson reports back to Elster’s husband Gavin, Gavin is convinced that his wife is possessed by the spirit of her long dead great-grandmother. Ferguson continues to follow her and in the process of trailing her, Ferguson himself becomes obsessed with the blond beauty. Even after Madeleine dies, Ferguson continues to look for her and he finds her in a dark-haired girl from Kansas who has been living in the city for three years.
Stewart plays the part of Ferguson masterfully. He has such a distinct voice and cadence, it makes him seem cool even in the most frenzied scenes. When he goes a bit crazy, he doesn’t scream, shout or carry on – he is catatonic with not even a twitch in his face as people talk to him. Novak, too, plays her roles well. She has a dual job as the wife of the shipping magnate and then the farm girl from Kansas.
The acting is what makes the film, though the pace of the movie is a bit slow. So much of the movie is taken up with Ferguson and Madeleine that it almost feels anti-climactic when Ferguson meets her look-alike Judy. In addition, several of the scenes certainly show the technological limitations that came along with making movies 50 years ago.
To express Ferguson’s feelings of vertigo, the cinematographer zooms in and out quickly while shooting a downward view of stairs in a tower. The dream sequences and flashbacks are also limited. After Madeleine dies and Ferguson has a nightmare, different scenes from the movie are shown through colored filters and there is a spinning spiral with a cutout picture of Stewart’s head spinning with it. Even the clues that give away the truth about Judy – I won’t reveal it for those who haven’t seen the movie – are a little too obvious by the standards of today.
Viewed in context, the film still holds its own, though. Enjoy the celebration of the 50th anniversary of filming with events in San Juan Bautista Oct. 5, 6, and 7. For more information, visit www.oldmissionsjb.org.
